Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne has brushed off questions about when the general election will be taking place, as rumours of a November poll grow more insistent.

“Nice try, but I won’t be saying when,” Fearne said on Friday in reply to a journalist who asked whether the government would be announcing a November election. 

Fearne was speaking at the end of a press conference in which he detailed budget measures for health and revealed that more public health restrictions for events are to be eased.

In August, Times of Malta reported how Prime Minister Robert Abela is being advised to call a November election. Sources within the government say a date in mid-to late November is increasingly being seen as a promising date for an election.

The government's five-year term expires in June next year.

Last Monday, following the Budget 2022 speech, Prime Minister Robert Abela also brushed off multiple questions about whether he would call an election several months early. 

When pressed once again on Friday, Fearne said that the Nationalist Party is continuously anticipating an election.

“An election needs to take place by summer, but it is up to the Prime Minister when it is called,” Fearne said.  

“Every day, the PN tries to guess when it will be. Why? I’m not sure why, but I suspect the PN want to have an opportunity to change its leader. We will call an election when it is in the best interest of our people.”